The Queen to meet Pope Francis at the Vatican for the first time

Pope Francis will welcome the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh to the Vatican on Thirsday for a private audience which is expected to be much less informal than previous encounters between monarch and pontiffs.

The royal couple will meet the head of the Catholic church in his papal study – close to the Casa Santa Marta hotel where he lives – rather than the lavish apostolic palace where the audience with Barack Obama took place last week.

The Queen and Prince Philip will meet Pope Francis at the Vatican on Thursday

And in keeping with the informal nature of the half hour visit, the Queen will not wear black or don a mantilla veil – the usual requirement for women meeting the Pope.

Her Majesty did not attend the Argentinian religious leader’s inauguration last March – and instead sent the Duke of Gloucester to represent her. She does, however have a long history of meeting papal leaders.

Pope Francis

The visit with Pope Francis will be her seventh meeting with a head of the Catholic church. Her first was with Pius XII in 1951 when she was still the Princess Royal. Ten years later she had an audience with John XXIII and met his successor John Paul II three times – in 1980, 1982 and 2000.

Pope Francis’ predecessor Benedict XVI visited the sovereign during his visit to the UK in 2010. Of the seven encounters, five took place in Rome.

The Queen’s last visit to the Vatican was 14 years ago, when she met John Paul II.

This week’s trip mark’s the Queen’s first foreign visit since she went to Australia in 2010. She and Prince Philip will arrive at lunchtime in Rome, where they will spend one day.

The royal couple will begin with a meeting with Giorgio Napolitano, Italy’s octogenarian president, before crossing the Tiber for their private, half-hour encounter with the 77-year-old Pope.